Updated October 25, 2026

Temple Dental School Interview (Kornberg): Format, Dates and Tips

What happens at the Temple dental school interview, how you get one, and how it decides your offer.

Temple's Kornberg School of Dentistry invites highly qualified DMD applicants to visit for a formal interview. It gauges your motivation, your approach to problems and your communication skills, and the visit adds a tour, time with students and a financial aid and housing review. Temple admits about 140 students a year from more than 2,500 applicants.

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Key facts (2027 entry)

Format: A formal interview. Temple does not publish its length, who interviews or how many interviewers there are.
Online or in person: The 2026-2027 Bulletin says applicants are invited to visit the Kornberg School of Dentistry for the interview.
What it assesses: Motivation, approach to problems and communication skills. English proficiency is also judged in the interview.
Who is picked: Applicants are scored on qualitative and quantitative criteria. The combined score and a holistic review set the tier for interview and admission.
Class: About 140 first-year students from more than 2,500 applicants.
Deadline: AADSAS completed and verified by January 15 (11:59 p.m. EST). The supplemental fee is due January 20.
Offers: From December, then rolling. A nonrefundable deposit holds your seat, and there are no deferrals.

What happens on the interview day

The interview visit is part interview, part look at the school. Temple says it lets you learn about Temple while the committee learns about you.

Formal interview. The committee gauges your motivation, your approach to problems and your communication skills.
Current students. You meet students in the DMD program.
Tour. You tour the facility.
Money and housing. You review financial aid and housing procedures.
Your application. The Bulletin says the visit gives you a chance to review the application you submitted.

Format not published. Temple does not say whether you face one interviewer or a panel. Prepare for both, and practice answering problem-solving questions out loud.

How offers are decided

The interview lets the Admissions Committee learn more about you before it decides. Temple does not publish how much the interview counts.

From December. Temple's admissions page says decisions are made December 15 (or the next business day). The 2026-2027 Bulletin says decisions start December 1 and are rolling after that.
English proficiency. It must show on the DAT and in the interview. The Bulletin adds your essays and DAT Reading Comprehension score.
Deposit. A nonrefundable deposit holds your seat.
No deferrals. Temple does not offer the option to defer admission.

How you get an interview

Temple scores every applicant on qualitative and quantitative criteria. The combined score and a holistic review rank applicants and decide who is invited.

Supplemental application. Emailed after your AADSAS application is verified. It lets you share life experiences such as civil or military service, post-bacc or master's work, and clinical and humanistic experiences.
DAT first. Applications are not reviewed without DAT scores, and scores more than two years old are not accepted. Temple recommends testing by August 31.
Two letters. From science professors or pre-health committee members.
Wider record. The committee also weighs your college, undergraduate record and course load, and previous work experience. A finished bachelor's degree gets preference.

Course rules to check

90 semester hours. From an accredited college or university.
Lab sciences. At least eight semester hours with lab in each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics, plus six hours of English.
Recommended. Anatomy, biochemistry, histology and physiology.

Dates for 2027 entry

Temple's deadline comes late in the cycle, but its review is ranked and rolling, so earlier is safer.

June 2, 2026. First day to submit an AADSAS application.
August 31, 2026. Temple's recommended latest DAT date.
December 2026. Decisions begin (see above for the two dates Temple gives).
January 15, 2027. AADSAS completed and verified (Temple's pages give the day without a year).
January 20, 2027. Supplemental application fee due by 5:00 p.m. EST.

Other routes. Kornberg also has a 3+4 BA plus DMD with Temple's College of Science and Technology, transfer entry, and an Advanced Standing Program for internationally trained dentists.

How to prepare

Temple names three things it gauges. Build your practice around them.

Motivation. Have a short, specific answer to why dentistry, built on what you saw and did, not on a family plan or income.
Approach to problems. Practice talking through a dilemma step by step: what you notice, who is affected, your options, and what you would do.
Communication. Speak plainly and check you answered the question. Record yourself and listen back.
Know the clinic. Temple describes a clinically oriented DMD with access to a large and diverse patient population. Be ready to say how you would serve patients from many backgrounds.

Re-read your supplemental. The visit includes a chance to review your application, so know every experience you listed and be ready to expand on it.

Practice questions

Questions in the style of a Formal interview (on campus) station, written for applicants to Temple University Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry. They are practice questions, not the school's own. Open one for what a strong answer does.

You are a dentist. A new patient is hiding severe dental anxiety behind rudeness and sarcasm, and has been dismissive toward your staff. How do you break the ice and get them comfortable enough to start their first exam?

Stay calm, name the fear gently, and give the patient some control before you start.

While shadowing, what's the most effective way you saw a dentist get a patient to improve their brushing or flossing without sounding like they were scolding them?

Focus on the communication technique, and why it worked for that patient.

You are a dental student in the school clinic. You realize the amalgam filling you just placed was mixed improperly and may fail early, but redoing it now would put the clinic badly behind schedule and upset the patient. What do you do?

Put the patient first, tell your supervising faculty, and explain how you would talk to the patient honestly.

Say you take over a retiring dentist's practice, and you discover that a significant number of their recently treated patients need that same work redone because of poor quality. How would you handle it?

Lay out a step-by-step plan that puts patients first, stays honest and treats the former dentist fairly.

In medicine, a physician might prescribe a medication and wait weeks to see if it works, while a dentist often diagnoses a problem and treats it in the same visit. How does that immediacy fit with the way you like to work?

Link it to something you have actually done, and show you also value long-term follow-up.

You are a dental student. A patient just found out they will have to wait six months for their dentures at the school clinic and is frustrated by the slow pace of student care. Talk with them.

Acknowledge the frustration honestly, explain why care takes longer, and offer something concrete you can do.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Temple dental interview assess?

Temple says the interview lets the Admissions Committee gauge your motivation, your approach to problems and your communication skills. English proficiency is also judged in the interview.

Is the Temple dental interview in person?

The 2026-2027 Bulletin says applicants are invited to visit the Kornberg School of Dentistry for a formal interview, with a tour and time with current students.

How many students does Temple dental accept?

Temple admits about 140 first-year DMD students each year, chosen from more than 2,500 applicants.

What is the Temple dental school deadline?

Your AADSAS application must be completed and verified by January 15 at 11:59 p.m. EST, and Temple must receive the supplemental fee by January 20.

Can I defer admission to Temple dental school?

No. Temple does not offer the option to defer admission, and a nonrefundable deposit is required to hold your seat.

Sources

Official pages only, read on the date shown. Schools change their process every year, so check the school's own page before you apply.

Temple University: Dentistry DMD Admissions · read October 25, 2026
Temple University Bulletin 2026-2027: Dentistry DMD · read October 25, 2026
Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry: DMD Program · read October 25, 2026
ADEA AADSAS Applicant Help Center: Application Cycle Dates · read October 25, 2026